An Unexpected Discovery

Chapters

Morning Routines
A Polite Awakening
An Important Discussion
Changes Happen
A Fresh Start

Morning Routines

Hi, I'm Matt.

I live in a small town on the outskirts of Chicago. Life here is great. I have some lovely next-door neighbors, and nothing really beats the quietness of my neighborhood. On weekends, I love to hit the local bar and have a couple of drinks with my buddies. Life truly is great. I only thought about it that way until I was forced to move to another realm.. I'll tell you about that later.

One morning, I woke up in my apartment and got dressed. The usual routine. I went into the kitchen, opened the fridge and found that I was pretty low on food. That's never good, because I'm always pretty lazy to go to the store to buy anything. I knew that I'd probably have a pretty bad day if I didn't eat breakfast, so I reluctantly put my shoes on and went out the door.

I don't have a car, so I have to walk to the grocery store every week or two, but the walk isn't painfully far. I began my walk down the street, took a right, and pressed the button to wait for the stoplight to allow me to walk across the street. I then proceeded to take a left, and then the store came into view.

I walked inside the store, grabbed a basket, and began reading through my list. I picked up what I needed, like bacon, mini-sausages, orange juice, pancake mix, milk, eggs, and vegetable oil. That was just what I needed for breakfast. I was just dying to eat, being unable to wait to get home so I could dig into a delicious breakfast.

I payed for everything I just grabbed, and started to make my way home. I took the same route as I did to get there, only in reverse. Once I got home, I almost immediately began making breakfast out of what I had bought from the store. I followed the directions on the back of the box of pancake mix, being careful to add not too much, nor too little, of each ingredient. While the pancakes cooked on a large frying pan, I ripped open the bag of sausages and put a good amount (probably four or five, I can't exactly remember now that I'm writing it) into another slightly smaller frying pan. After a few minutes, I flipped the pancakes and the sausages. They looked delicious, and perfectly cooked on one side. I felt good about myself at that moment, knowing that I'm an acceptable cook.

When everything was finished cooking, I set out a plate for myself and put three pancakes and four sausages on it. They smelled delicious. I like my syrup warm, (but, then again, who doesn't?) so I threw a small cup of it into the microwave for a couple of seconds. I spread the syrup across the pancakes and sausages, and took a bite. Delicious. I savoured every last bit, and before I knew it, everything went from the plate to my stomach.

I then put the plate and used utensils into the sink, knowing and reminding myself that I had to wash the dishes at some point. Once all that was done, I was completely bored. I was lonely in my apartment, being the only one living there, so I decided the only two options I had were to watch TV, or play a game on my PC. I decided to do the laziest thing, which was sit on the couch for an hour or two and watch TV. I proceeded to do just that, I let myself fall onto the couch, and put my feet up on the arm rest of the other end. I hastily grabbed the remote for the TV, which was just waiting for me on the wooden coffee table in front of me. I pressed the red 'on/off' button on the remote and watched as the television sprang to life, but much to my disappointment, I saw that the childish show "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic" was currently on the channel I had turned my TV on to. I let out a groan as the theme song briefly filled my head before I quickly changed the channel to something more appropriate for my age.

Two hours of shows later, I was bored of watching TV. I flicked it off and lazily got up off the couch, and walked into my bedroom to be greeted by my computer, my bed, and the light coming from the window. I walked across the floor, making occasional creaks come from the wooden floorboards under my bare feet. I sat down in my comfortable office chair, wiggled my mouse, and turned on the monitor.

I was greeted with my desktop, with very few icons covering my sarcastic wallpaper. It was something I came up with in Photoshop, just because I love simple wallpapers. It's basically a white background with three sentences:

You were probably expecting a background full of my interests.

Well, I think we both know this isn't what you were looking for.

Here's a white background instead.

I always get a good chuckle out of my own sarcasm. I took a few seconds to admire it before opening the browser. I was out of ideas for things to do, so I thought I'd look at a news site. Even though news sites aren't always that interesting, I thought it was worth a look. I typed the address into the bar at the top of my screen and pressed enter. My internet was being fairly slow that day, so I just waited. Waited, and waited, and waited, and waited. After two minutes of nothing showing up on the screen, I was fed up with it and closed the browser. I turned off my monitor and got up from my chair.

I decided there was nothing better to do than take a walk through the neighborhood. I walked at a moderate pace through the doorway of my bedroom, down the hallway, and over to the doormat at my front door. I slid on my shoes and opened the door before closing it behind me once I was outside, and locked it with the key I was given by my landlord when I first moved in.

I forgot to mention that the apartment block I was situated in had a slightly scary means of leaving and entering each apartment. The back of the apartment was the easiest way to get in, since it was closest to the parking lot. This meant that to get to each apartment, one had to walk up the rickety, rusted metal fire-escape stairs to get in and out of each apartment. This was especially creepy for people who were particularly afraid of heights, one of those people being me.

I walked carefully down the stairs, hearing faint sounds of metal meeting shoe as I took each step. Once at the bottom, I began to walk onto the sidewalk. I walked down the concrete sidewalk while listening to the sounds of car engines, horns blaring, and faint footsteps of other people nearby.

The town is known to have a lot of litter and garbage all over the place, so it was no surprise to see a lot of garbage spread across the street and sidewalks. I kept walking before hearing something.. It sounded strange. Like very faint squeaking. It seemed to be coming from one of the many alleyways throughout the streets. I decided that it must be a small animal trying to find its way home, but probably got lost along the way.

I made my way closer to the noise. As I walked, the squeaking became more audible. I started to feel worried about it, being the mostly kind person that I am. My walking speed started to increase into a speed-walk, trying to find the source of the sound. Once it was very easy to hear, I could now hear the squeaking echoing through the alleyway that was before me.

I slowly crept through the short alley, still trying to find the source of the already easily audible sound. I kept making my way down the brightly-lit alleyway before stopping. I could easily hear the sound, almost as if it was right in front of me. I looked around before settling my gaze on a box. It was making the slightest movements, almost as if whatever was inside wanted to get out. I ever so slightly made my way over to the box until I was standing right in front of it. Whatever was inside seriously wanted to get out.

I was quite nervous that what I found inside might be harmful to me, but since it sounded so harmless by the little squeaks it was making, I wasn't as nervous as I was a few minutes ago. I started to open the flaps on top of the box. The suspense was killing me. I quickly opened the flaps just enough to see what was inside, but what I saw was just mesmerizing.

Standing before me, sleeping inside the box, was a little Pegasus filly. She had her eyes closed, and was snoring in a way that when she exhaled, she made the most adorable little squeaks, most likely the noises that drew me to this little creature. I was absolutely astonished by what lay before me, inside this small cardboard box.

The little filly had a short pink mane, with a light-yellow coat. She was curled up under the protection of her little pink tail, still sleeping as I tried to be as quiet and careful as possible not to wake her. Once I averted my gaze from the little Pegasus, I looked to see if there was anything else in the box or around it, something to help me understand where this adorable little creature came from.

What caught my eye, however, was a small piece of paper, which almost looked like a scroll, judging by the faded and ripped texture and color of it. It rested just beside the little filly, so I had to be careful when I picked it up. Much to my surprise, as I carefully removed the slip of paper from the box, she did not wake up. Not even a hint that she could feel my presence.

Eager to find out what was on the note, I quickly unfolded it and looked at what was written on it. There was one word, which I assumed was the name of this little creature.

Fluttershy

"Fluttershy, huh?" I whispered quietly, being careful not to wake her up, "That's a nice name. I wonder where you came from?"

I wanted so badly to know more about the adorable little thing, but I knew the only way to get to know her more was to take her home with me. Well, since she was just left there, and her name was on a slip of paper, I thought she must have been abandoned.

Wanting so badly to take her with me, I tried my hardest to ever so carefully lift the box she was snuggled up inside so as to not wake her. I was surprised to know that she wasn't very heavy, weighing just a few pounds. She was the lightest equine I had ever seen. I also was relieved to know that she didn't wake up as I carried her in the box, with the flaps closed as to not reveal to any passersby that there was a creature inside the box.

I slowly walked, being careful not to wake her, down the sidewalk towards my apartment. This might be interesting, I thought, as I kept walking towards my apartment.

A Polite Awakening

I set the box down on the floor, and surprisingly, Fluttershy was still sleeping. I thought I should wake her up, but then thought about how she'd react to being in a world she wouldn't recognize. She was just sleeping so peacefully and I thought I should just leave her to sleep until she woke up on her own. And that's what I did. I walked through the hallway, being careful not to make too much noise, and went into my bedroom. I walked over to the closet, opened the doors, and looked for a blanket. It didn't take long for me to find one. It was a small, red blanket made of very soft fabric.

I walked carefully down the hall and back into the main room where the living room and kitchen was, which was where I had set down the box. I thought she might not be very comfortable in that cardboard box, so I wanted to do something about it. I carefully attempted to lift her out of the box, trying not to wake her. I carried the adorable little filly in my arms, keeping her in the curled-up form she was already in. I set down the blanket, and then Fluttershy on top. I set her down carefully on one side of the blanket, and folded the other end over top of her, sandwiching her between the blanket to make her as comfortable as possible.

She began to move slightly, snuggling herself into the blanket and falling asleep once again. I felt relieved that I had not disturbed her sleep. I let out a soft sigh, and went back to my bedroom. I sat down at my computer, turned on the monitor, and opened the browser. I immediately searched for 'Pegasus' and found the most reliable result to be on Wikipedia. I clicked on the link, waited, and much to my relief, the internet was being particularly fast. It must have been a coincidence how when I needed the internet most, it worked best.

I scrolled through the article on Pegasi, but nothing interesting showed up. It was all about how Pegasi are all just a Greek myth, and how they don't really exist. I was disappointed at the fact that my search brought up no other useful information. Then, a strange thought hit me. Fluttershy reminded me of the characters I had only briefly seen from the show 'My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic'! I sprang to action and searched the name of the show, only to find a link to a fan-made wiki on the show. I was instantly struck by a feeling of discomfort as I looked through the wiki, seeing as how it looked and sounded juvenile to the highest degree. However, I was not going to give up on my search for knowledge on Fluttershy's origin and species. I typed her name into the search bar at the top of the page, and sure enough, a page all about Fluttershy came up. She really was part of this children's show! I was completely baffled by what I had just found. A character from a children's TV show.. On Earth?! I couldn't think of any possibilities on how this could have happened.

After a bit more reading, I closed the browser and turned off the monitor. Just then, I could hear something. It sounded like.. Yawning? I quickly ran as quietly as possible down the hallway and back to Fluttershy. Almost as if on queue, I saw her eyes starting to open. Seeing her wake up was, for some reason, the most adorable thing I have ever seen. I watched in awe as she opened her eyes fully and looked around. The expression on her face was a look of discomfort, and I didn't blame her. She seemed completely unaware of how she got into my apartment. She kept scanning the room that she was in, and the first thing she noticed was the blanket she was wrapped in. She tried to get herself free of it, and was successful in doing so. She stumbled a few times before gaining her balance and wobbling to her feet.. I mean hooves. As she stood up, she kept looking around, almost as if trying to find a way to escape. Thankfully there were no open windows, doors, and no ways of escape, so I could be sure she would be safe in my apartment.

She was looking around the room a few seconds longer before spotting me. The fixated her gaze on me, with a blank expression on her face. That blank expression soon turned to a look of fear, and she started to tremble in my presence.

"Hi, little girl," I said in a soft tone, trying my best to keep her calm, "You're safe here, don't worry."

She still shook with fear. I tried to get closer, but she started to back away. She soon found the box she was lying in when I found her, jumped inside, and tried to close it on top of her. I kept moving closer to the box, until I was close enough to see her inside with a look of pure anxiety on her face.

"Come on, you'll be fine. I won't hurt you," I said, still attempting to get her to calm down.

She just sat there, terrified of me, in the safety of her box. I tried to reach inside to stroke her mane and calm her down, but she immediately let out a yelp of despair, trying to call for help. I backed away, just watching her start to tear up. A single tear trickled down her muzzle, and I felt so sad for her to be abandoned on earth. She should have been with her parents. Did they abandon her? How did they even get to earth, if so?

I just sat there, two feet away from the box she took shelter in, and waited. Waited, and waited, and waited, and waited. After about two minutes, I could sense her starting to calm down. I started toward the box again, hoping she'd be more accepting of me this time.

I was wrong. She squeaked, almost as if trying to scream, in a very high-pitched tone. I backed away again, but immediately tried to calm her down again. I reached into the box and began to stroke her mane, feeling her shake even more at my touch. However, she began to calm down as I stroked her short pink mane. She closed her eyes and took deep breaths. I was so glad to know that she had started to calm down. Now I knew that she didn't hate me.

"There, there. It's okay," I said in a whisper.

I couldn't see her like that anymore. I tried to pick her up out of the box again before holding her delicately in my arms, still stroking her soft mane. I held her closer to me, attempting to show some affection to her, to show that I meant to help her. She began to stop shaking. Her breathing became normal. She let out a long, soft sigh as I held her close to me.

After a few seconds, she was completely calm. I set her down on the floor, kneeling in front of her. She wobbled up onto her hooves. I thought she was fine on her own, but as she came closer to me and lay down in front of me, I knew she wanted me to keep holding her. I picked her up again, and she did not seem reluctant at all. She nuzzled me as I began to run my fingers through her mane again. She obviously loved the affection I was giving her.

After about five minutes, I set her down again. She began to walk through the room, stumbling every now and then, but managing to keep herself upright. I just sat there and watched her. She was the most adorable little thing. I was so glad I had found her. I knew she was going to have a better life while I took care of her.

It was then I heard another noise. It sounded like a stomach grumbling. I knew it wasn't me, so it must have been Fluttershy. I chuckled.

"Hungry?" I asked, which got a nod from her in return.

She could understand English? That was a plus, because I didn't want to learn a whole new language just to speak to her. I immediately got up and walked into the kitchen. As I walked past her, I noticed a huge height difference. I was at least a few feet taller than Fluttershy. I thought that just added to how cute she was. A tiny little Pegasus filly.

I opened the fridge, unsure of what she'd enjoy. I settled on the bag of lettuce on the shelf of the fridge, thinking she'd like vegetables more than meat. I broke the seal on the bag and poured some lettuce onto a plate. I washed it thoroughly under the tap before setting the plate down in front of her.

"Do you like lettuce?" I asked, hoping her answer would be a yes.

She immediately started eating leaf after leaf. "I take that as a yes," I answered. She was eating faster than I've ever seen any human. She must have been really hungry. She finished the entire plate in about 30 seconds flat, which really surprised me. I thought I'd give it another try. I took two pieces from a loaf of bread in the pantry, and put some lettuce and tomatoes on it. I squished the two pieces of bread together and handed that to her. She ate the whole thing in five seconds. I was really amazed at how fast she was eating. She was really, really hungry.

"I think that's enough for now, Fluttershy," I said, which in return got a disappointed frown from the little filly. She jumped into my arms, attempting to flap her wings to give her a boost. "More!" She squeaked as she gave me a saddened look, almost as if begging to be fed. Also, she spoke, which surprised me as well. I never knew she would be able to speak English, let alone understand it. "Alright, just a little more."

I made another sandwich, this time adding lettuce, tomato, cucumber, and topping it off with mustard. As I expected, she gobbled the whole thing down in three bites. She let out a little burp, which prompted her to cover her mouth with her hoof and blush a little, while giving me an 'oops!' kind of expression. I picked her up before she nuzzled me again, and I patted her on the head while she smiled at me. She had definitely taken a strong liking to me. Not a moment later, she let out a soft yawn before letting her eyelids glaze over. She fell asleep in my arms, starting to snore the same way she did when I had found her at first. I kissed her lightly on the forehead before setting her back in the red blanket I had given her before.

"Sweet dreams, Fluttershy." I whispered before walking off into my bedroom.

An Important Discussion

I slowly opened my eyes, looking over at the small alarm clock sitting atop the end table at the side of my bed. Six in the morning. I stretched out my legs and arms, feeling the joints pop. I pulled the covers back and got out of bed. My body was telling me to go back to sleep, but my brain told me I should get up, have breakfast, and see how Fluttershy was doing. I wondered if she was still asleep this early in the morning.

I walked out of my bedroom and down the hallway. Just as I got into the kitchen, I was attacked by a little yellow Pegasus. I stumbled down to the cold, hard tile of the kitchen floor as I held the little creature in my arms.

"Sleep well, Fluttershy?" I asked as I regained my balance and kneeled down. She answered with a smile and a nod. She wasn't the best speaker, but her actions always spoke for her. I put her down on the floor again, and as she stood up she looked up at me with a needy expression. She must have been hungry. I went over to the fridge and opened the door. I grabbed what I needed. Lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, pickles. I then took two slices of bread from the cupboard and set them down on a white porcelain plate. It was the only thing I knew she liked. I prepared the sandwich for her before setting the plate down in front of her. In a matter of seconds, the plate was completely licked clean.

I smiled at her as I picked up the plate up and put it in the kitchen sink. At that moment, I realized that there was a lot of dishes piling up in the sink, so I got to work. I scrubbed down to every last plate and bowl and set it all down on a dish towel to dry. I really needed a dishwasher to save me all that trouble. But before I bought anything expensive, I needed a job.

Then I remembered the grocery store down the street was opening some job positions. But all of my thoughts came to a halt once I heard a neck at the door. Who could that be? Perhaps the landlord collecting rent, as it was about that time of month. I walked over to the front door and opened it.

"Sorry sir, but I don't have the money right now. Could I-"

To my surprise, a feminine voice interrupted me. It was definitely not my landlord.

"I don't think we've met before.. What is this you are going on about?" A white figure spoke before me, just a little shorter than my height. She was definitely not human either. She looked more like.. An equine. With a billowing, sparkling, multi-colored mane and a picture of a sun on each side of her hindquarters. She was the same sort of species as Fluttershy, but a lot taller than anything I've ever seen. She looked at me with a slightly confused expression.

"I'm sorry, I expected to see my landlord. Who are you supposed to be?" I asked, giving an equally puzzled look at her, "I think it would be better if I entered, that way we could discuss something very important," she answered.

I nodded silently and motioned for her to enter. She walked through the doorway, making a sound of something hard hitting the floor with each step she took. I closed the door behind her and started toward the living room while she followed closely behind me. I took a few glances behind me as we walked down the hallway. Once we got to the living room, there was instantly a feeling of something missing floating around in my head. Fluttershy was nowhere to be seen. But before I could begin to panic, I saw her little head pop out of the box that was sitting at the corner of the room. She seemed to be scared of our unexpected guest.

"Uh.. Please, sit," I asked her while motioning toward the couch at the side of the room. She nodded while dropping down to the couch, attempting to not make any noise. I could already feel that the reason she was here was important, since she looked almost as if she was royalty where she came from. A second later, I sat down on the chair positioned opposite to the couch.

"I have some very important matters to discuss with you, Matthew," she said in a very relaxed tone. As soon as she mentioned my name, I was instantly surprised and intrigued. How did she know my name? Who is she? I was tempted to ask, so I did, "How do you know my name?"

"All of your questions will be answered soon. Let me tell you a few things first. My name is Celestia. As you can probably tell, I do not live on this planet. I am from a distant world known as Equestria. I've come here because it would appear that you have something I am looking for."

"What are you talking about? I don't think I have anything you'd want.."

"Have you come across anything out of the ordinary? Perhaps someone lost?"

"No.. I haven't." That was a lie. I had hoped she would believe it, but then my instinct caused be to blush. I could feel my face getting warmer. I always do that when I lie. That's why I'm never very good at lying. She chuckled, "Let me ask you that again. Have you seen anything out of the ordinary?"

That was the very moment when the secret was revealed. Fluttershy began to peek her head out of the box. Celestia could obviously see it out of the corner of her eye, because she turned her head almost instantly in the direction of the box. She immediately got up from the couch and slowly walked over to it. At that second, I was terrified. Worried that Fluttershy would be harmed. Celestia made her way over to the box before standing right in front of it. She looked down into it, finding Fluttershy curled up as tightly as possible in the corner of the box with a worried expression on her face.

"This is what I meant.."

There was a pause for a few seconds before I broke the silence, "What are you going to do with her? I found her lost in an alleyway, so I felt sorry for her and thought I'd take care of her." Celestia smiled at my response before speaking up, "You made the right choice. You see, in our world, she was said to be last spotted around a portal to this world. She must have stumbled through it and ended up here. I am glad you were the one to find her, Matthew."

Fluttershy started to emerge from the box. She immediately jumped out and darted toward me. I held out my arms, knowing that she would probably jump at me to safety. She did just that. She jumped into my arms and curled up with her face buried in my arms as she started to pant and shake. "It's okay Fluttershy. She won't hurt you," I whispered, "she's here to help you." At my words, she relaxed. She poked her head out of my arm and looked at Celestia with a less worried look. When she did that, I knew she had developed a bit of trust with me. I had to know more from Celestia. What was Fluttershy going to do without me? Does she have any real parents?

"If you wouldn't mind me asking, Miss Celestia, does Fluttershy have any parents?"

"I'm afraid not. I, nor anypony else, has known of any parents belonging to Fluttershy."

"Any.. Pony?"

"I'm sorry, let me explain. Where I come from, all of the people there are ponies. Fluttershy is one of the many that live there. But sadly, she does not have any parents, so she just wanders around the villages of Equestria."

"That sounds terrible. What happened to her genetic parents, then?"

"I am unaware of that, too. My guess is they just vanished. Anyway, back to the important matters. Fluttershy needs to come back home to Equestria. I am very thankful for you taking care of her while you did," she motioned for me to allow Fluttershy to come with her, "if you'll just bring Fluttershy to me, we'll be on our way."

I hesitated. I was instantly worried about her. If she had no parents, what would she do? It could be unsafe for her. I knew what I had to do. "Um.. Maybe I could come along with her. I am sure she would be a lot safer if I watched after her." Celestia gave me a puzzled look, "So, you'd like to adopt her?"

"Yes. I would love to."

"Well then, I suppose we should be getting to Equestria."

Changes Happen

As we walked down the street, I held Fluttershy in my arms closely to avoid anyone seeing us and getting suspicious. On my back was my bag, which contained my phone, camera, a few changes of clothes, and other necessities for a quick trip. I gave Celestia a puzzled look, "So, how are we going to Equestria?"

She smiled at me reassuringly before answering, "Well, we need to find that portal, correct?"

"Yeah, I guess so. But where is it? What does it look like?"

"Oh, you'll see. Just follow me, I'll show you where it is."

I followed Celestia down the street before taking a left, then a right. After a few more turns and straights, we were on a small street I hadn't seen before. Just ahead was a small alleyway which looked much like the one I found Fluttershy in. Celestia pointed to the alley that had already caught my attention, "Just over there. You might not find it, but trust me when I say it's very well blended in," she explained.

We started to walk toward the alleyway when suddenly, I spotted something moving out of it. It looked sort of like Celestia, but with a darker coat, looking like a cobalt blue color. She had the same billowing mane as Celestia, but it was a similar color to her coat. She was running out of the alley, looking worried about something.

Celestia called over to her, "Over here, sister! There is no need to come looking for me," she yelled just enough for the mysterious mare to hear her. She stopped, turned to face us, and gave us a relieved expression before walking over to us. She spoke, "Ah, there you are, sister. I was afraid you had gotten lost or in trouble," she looked in my direction, then looked back at Celestia, "and I see you brought someone with you?" She just stared at be for a moment with a rather annoyed look on her face, as if she didn't want me there. Celestia explained, "It is quite all right. This is Matthew. Matthew, this is Luna, my sister. Luna, Matthew found dear Fluttershy and took her in to take care of her. He will be adopting her in Equestria." At those words, Luna's look of annoyance turned to surprise. "He is, is he? Well then, I suppose we should get him to Ponyville, shouldn't we?"

Luna walked back into the alleyway before motioning for us to follow her. I followed closely behind Celestia. After a moment, I set down Fluttershy on the ground so she could walk with us, because my arms were getting tired holding onto her. She wasn't all that developed in walking, however, so she almost immediately fell down onto the cold, dry asphalt of the road. I picked her up as soon as she fell to avoid losing her to a passing car as we crossed the street. "It's ok, we'll be home soon," I reassured her in a whisper, which prompted a little smile to spread across her face as she buried her face into my chest, relaxing in my arms once again.

We entered the alleyway to be greeted by Luna, waiting patiently for us beside a mirror that was leaning against the brick wall of a building encasing the alley. She motioned towards the mirror, pointing her hoof at it before speaking softly, "Shall we be going then?" She asked. I gave her a confused expression, "The portal is.. a.. mirror?" I asked, "So, we just walk through it? It's made of glass!" She chuckled at my words, "Of course it's glass, but that doesn't stop it from being a very discreet portal to Equestria. Now, please, step through. Your journey awaits you."

I hesitantly reached an arm out to the glass mirror, suddenly being surprised that it went through with ease. I pulled my arm back out, revealing it to be unscathed. I did the same thing again, still being completely unharmed. I set Fluttershy down on the ground and reached both arms in, pulled them back out, and was once again relieved that they were both still intact. I noticed Luna was also getting impatient, so I grabbed Fluttershy from the ground again, held her closely closely in my arms, and finally jumped completely through the mirror.

What was inside wasn't much of a surprise. I began to feel a shift in gravity, feeling myself drift backwards through a bright, multicolored tunnel. It wasn't surprising that this was what happened, because it reminded me of most similar situations on television shows. After what seemed like a full two minutes, I could see the end of the tunnel. Not a moment later, I was spat out of the other end of the portal, bracing for impact, holding Fluttershy closely and shielding her. We hit the ground, emerging with only a few scratches on my arms and legs. "You okay, Fluttershy?" I asked her, prompting a little nod from her, although she immediately proceeded to give me a surprised expression, as if something had changed. I decided to ignore it, thinking it was just a surprise to be back in Equestria. I got up off the ground, rubbed the dirt off myself, and checked to see if my bag was intact. It was fine, to my relief. I waited patiently, just sitting on the floor, for Celestia and Luna to emerge from the portal.

A few seconds passed before I saw two familiar beings come through the mirror. Celestia landed safely on her legs, and so did Luna. They walked towards me and stopped in front of me. Celestia gave me a smile, as if she was proud of me for something. Luna's face showed a surprised expression, much like the one Fluttershy did.

"Something different?" I asked, confused at why they were giving me those expressions.

"Something feel different, Matthew?" Celestia asked in response. At those words, I realized I did feel different. Like.. My body had changed shape. I quickly walked over to the portal, not planning on jumping in, but to take a look at myself. I stopped in front of the mirror just as my jaw dropped in complete and utter bewilderment and surprise. What stood before me, in the mirror, was a Pegasus, much like Fluttershy, only in an adult form. I had become a pony as I went through the portal. But, how did Celestia and Luna not get changed into humans if they came through the portal as well? I didn't care as much about getting an answer to that question, considering how amazed I was at my recent transformation.

I examined myself more closely in the mirror standing before me. I appeared to have a grey coat, with wings growing out of the sides of my torso. I had a dark blue mane and tail, a little lighter than Luna's. The only thing abnormal was that I didn't have a picture of something on my "flanks", as equines call them. I asked Celestia while pointing to the area on my hindquarters with a hoof, "Why don't I have one of those.. uh.. things?" Celestia responded with a smile, "Oh, that's called your Cutie Mark. It describes a pony's special talent or something they take great interest in. You haven't discovered that yet, so you don't have one. You will, though. When the time comes." I nodded to show my understanding.

"So, where should we go from here?" I asked.

"Let's get you to the Ponyville Adoption Center. We'll get you a proper legal bond with Fluttershy there." She responded, motioning to a door leading out of the room into a hallway. I picked up Fluttershy and set her down on my back, which I thought was a great advantage to being a pony as I didn't have to carry her in my arms anymore. We proceeded to exit the room, and continued down the hallway. It had a fancy-looking carpet, something that showed class almost as if it belonged to royalty. I asked, "Where are we now?"

"Oh, we're in the castle in Canterlot. Luna and I live here," she said before raising her hoof to her forehead, "Oh, my apologies. I should have told you before that myself and my sister are royalty here in Equestria."

"Well, what an honor it was to meet you, uh.. Princess?.. Celestia?.." I asked, wondering if that was indeed her title.

Celestia chuckled, "Yes, that is my title, as well as Luna's. However, you may call us by whatever name you like."

"Well, thank you, Celestia," I responded.

We continued to walk down the hallway, hearing hooves hitting the smooth marble floor beneath us. Nearing the end of the hallway, Lune spoke up, "Well, I guess I'll be going now. I hope this isn't the last time I see you, Matthew." She walked off with a smile on her face, waving back at us for a moment before continuing to walk off. I waved back at her and continued down the hallway with Celestia. We took a left at the end of it, which lead to a large main room. Inside was a statue depicting something that looked like Celestia, except it was slightly bigger, and completely black in color. To the side of the statue were some banners, flags, and windows. In the middle of the room stood a fountain with water gracefully pouring out of the top and sides. I just stood there for a moment, taking in the beauty of the room I was standing in. I didn't stay put for very long as Celestia spoke up, "There will be time for sightseeing another time. For now, we need to get to Ponyville."

We walked out of the castle to be greeted by the light of the sun. It looked to be noon, judging by how the sun was positioned in the sky. In the distance I could see a large staircase leading down into a very high-class town. I assumed that was downtown Canterlot. We proceeded to walk across the bridge and down the many stairs leading into the town. As soon as I set foot.. I mean hoof in the town, I got a lot of glares from the fancy ponies walking throughout the town. Obviously they look down on the lower-class peasants that live elsewhere in Equestria. I hoped Ponyville wasn't as bad as Canterlot.

We continued through the streets of Canterlot before stopping in front of a train station. "This is the best way to get to and from Ponyville. I'm sure you'll love it there once we get there, Matthew," Celestia said with a smile. We went up the stone steps of the train station and onto the platform. After about ten minutes of silently waiting, the train finally arrived. Audible screeching could be heard as the brakes on the train engaged and the train came to a grinding halt. The doors slowly opened and we stepped inside. I crouched down under the doorway to make sure Fluttershy's little head didn't hit the top. We found a seat closest to the door and sat down. I picked Fluttershy up off my back and set her down on the seat next to me. She was awfully fond of me and loved to be as close as possible to me, because she put her tiny little forelegs around me and hugged me tightly before just sitting there, leaning on me. I thought she was just adorable when she did that.

The train began to start moving once the doors closed. There was another odd-looking Pegasus on the train sitting across from us. She had a very pale blue coat with a pale yellow mane. She had a wall-eyed expression painted on her face, almost as if she had lazy eye on both of her eyes. Her eyes were the same color of yellow as her mane, but a bit darker. I'm not sure if she looked at us for a second, but I'm almost completely sure that she did, because she waved at us with a smile before going back to looking around, not paying much attention to us afterwards.

About thirty minutes passed before we stopped in Ponyville. Celestia exited the train first, then me and Fluttershy. I could already tell that this town was way more happier and lower-class than Canterlot. All of the ponies that inhabited the town were smiling and going about their days, saying hello to each other every once in a while in a happy tone. It was such a positive environment, I felt happy just walking through the town. We continued through the dirt roads of Ponyville, passing by all the happy ponies in the streets. Just down the street, a small building caught my eye. There was a sign on the front that read, "Ponyville Adoption Center". I knew that was our destination.

We came through the doors and heard a bell ring as one of the doors hit it from above. It rang a second time as the door closed. Inside was a few paintings and pictures hung on the yellow-painted walls, and in the far end of the room was a reception desk. Celestia, Fluttershy and I walked up to the desk.

"Hello, miss. My friend Matthew would like to legally adopt Fluttershy as his daughter. Could you bring us the forms for that, if you please?" Celestia asked. The receptionist was clearly surprised seeing royalty standing before her, "Yes, of course, Princess Celestia. I take it you are authorizing this, since there are no birth parents present to give consent?" She asked, bowing in front of Celestia, "Yes, of course," Celestia replied. The receptionist nodded and ran into another room, coming back a few minutes later with a few forms and a pen.

"You just need to sign the child's name here, your name here, and the witness' name here." She said, handing me the forms. I wasn't sure how to write, seeing how I didn't have hands anymore. I asked Celestia, "Um.. Celestia.. How would I write without hands?" She chuckled at my question and answered, "Oh, we ponies just use our mouths to write. Unless you're a unicorn, of course. Don't worry, it will come to you like an instinct." I trusted her and took the pen in my mouth. To my surprise, I was actually writing in my best handwriting. Celestia was right, it was like an instinct. I wrote "Fluttershy" on the first blank line, then signed my name on the second, and gave the pen to Celestia to sign her name on the third and final line. Once I gave the forms back to the receptionist, she walked back into the room she got them from, then came back empty-handed. "All right! She's yours! Raise her well." She said with a smile. As if on cue, Fluttershy threw her forelegs around my neck and gave me a hug. "Daddy!" She squeaked at me. The receptionist and Celestia both gave me a look of sheer happiness at Fluttershy's display of affection. I picked her up from my back and hugged her as well.

As we stepped out of the Adoption Center, I wondered what I was supposed to do from there.

"What am I supposed to do now, go back to Earth? From my time being here, I would much rather live in Equestria than Earth," I said.

"Well, that shouldn't be a problem. We just need to find you two a place to stay. How does Cloudsdale sound?"

"Cloudsdale?.."

"It's a city in the sky, only inhabited by Pegasi. You two would be better off there, since you're both Pegasi."

"Well, I'm not even sure I know how to use my wings yet."

"Well then, I suppose we should get started, shall we?" Celestia began to flap her wings and grabbed my hoof. Fluttershy sat on the ground, just watching. Celestia pulled me into the air, "Try flapping your wings, Matthew," she said. I focused on flapping them, and to my surprise, they began to unfold and flapped in a steady rhythm. She let go of my hoof and allowed me to gain my balance. I wasn't having much trouble flying, which was a relief. I was actually flying! It was like a dream come true. I tried to move around, tilting my wings to push me forward. It came with great ease to fly around in the sky. Knowing I had already honed my instinct of flying, I lowered myself to the ground along with Celestia. Fluttershy started clapping, "Yay daddy!" She said, still in her adorable squeaky voice.

I picked up Fluttershy and set her down on my back, "Hold on," I said, as she put her forelegs around my neck to keep herself from falling off. I unfolded my wings once more and began to ascend into the air. "So, where is Cloudsdale, Celestia?" I asked, "Oh, let me show you. Follow me," she replied, flying higher and higher until she vanished above the clouds. I did the same, ascending enough to go through the layer of clouds and hover above them. In the distance, I could see a beautiful city with waterfalls hanging down off the sides. The whole city was made of clouds, as I has expected from a city named 'Cloudsdale'. I flew closer and closer until there was a thick layer of clouds under me, which I then descended and landed upon. Celestia landed right in front of me, "Let's find you a place to stay," she said.

We walked across the bridge leading into a few neighbourhoods filled with Pegasi and houses made entirely of clouds. There was one house at the end of one of the streets that had a sign in the window that read "Vacancy" on it in bold red letters. "Well, what a coincidence." Celestia said as she pointed towards it. I nodded in agreement as we walked towards it. Once we were right in front of the door to the house, I pushed the door open, finding that it was unlocked. I walked inside, followed by Celestia. "Seems like the perfect place," I said, receiving a nod and a smile from Celestia.

"Well then, it's all yours. I hope you two have the best of luck in Equestria. You can come to the castle in Canterlot any time if you need myself or Luna. Happy travels!" Celestia said as she waved and flew off into the sky.

"I'm sure we will, right Fluttershy?"

"Uh-huh!"

A Fresh Start

I walked through the empty house I had just acquired as my own. Fluttershy was sitting in the corner of the living room, letting her eyes wander. I walked through the kitchen, looking through the empty cupboards and admiring the lovely granite countertops. I walked to the back of the kitchen to find a hallway with a staircase at the end of it.

The hallway was short, since it only had a staircase. I made my way to the end of it and ascended the stairs. I took each step carefully, since I was still having a little bit of trouble in my new equine body. However, I managed to make it up the stairs without hurting myself. At the top of the staircase was another hallway, only slightly longer than the previous one. I continued walking down the hallway to be greeted by a door on my left. I pushed it open to reveal a small bedroom on the other side. It looked to be the perfect bedroom for Fluttershy. The room was empty, just like the rest of the house. I had yet to purchase furniture for our new home. There was a window on the far wall of the room, and a light switch on the wall to the right of the door. The dim light from the sunset was seeping through the window and into the room, filling it with a red glow. What a beautiful sunset. It gets even prettier when you live in the sky.

I closed the door and continued down the hallway. After another few steps, I met another door to my right. I pushed it open to find a larger bedroom, which looked perfect for me. There was a window in the back and a closet in one of the far walls. I took a deep breath and let it out in a long sigh. After examining the room a little more, I pulled the door closed and turned around. I walked down the hallway, down the stairs, and back into the living room through the kitchen. I was surprised to see that Fluttershy had moved from one corner of the room to the other, almost questioning whether or not it was magic or if she actually walked over there by herself.

"Did you walk over there all by yourself?" I asked. She replied with a nod. "Good for you!" I exclaimed, walking over to her and wrapping my arms around her. She giggled softly as I squeezed a little tighter before letting go.

I was thinking of going out to buy some new furniture. Perhaps a bed, most importantly, so we could get some sleep tonight. But then I wondered how I'd pay for it all. Surely there was a different currency system in Equestria. I needed a job before I could make any purchases. It was getting late, however, so I told myself I would get a job the next day, and the clouds beneath my hooves would have to do.

"Come on, let's get some sleep." I lay down on the soft cloud floor. Fluttershy got up and wobbled over to me before lazily falling over and curling up next to me. She closed her eyes and fell asleep, and so did I. It was going to be a big day tomorrow.

Just before I fell asleep, I heard a yawn beside me, followed by, "Night-night, daddy." I smiled and wrapped one of my wings around her, then drifted off to sleep.

"Right here's fine! Set 'er down easy!" I heard a voice call in a strong accent. I felt the presence of Fluttershy, still curled up beside me as she was last night. Out of all the commotion going on outside, I could still hear the soft squeaking coming from her as she snored. I couldn't quite decipher what was happening out there, so I decided to check. I slowly got up, being careful not to wake Fluttershy. I yawned as I stretched my legs and wings, feeling the joints pop. I wobbled over to the window of the living room. The bright light of the morning sun shone through the window, illuminating the room. Upon looking out, I saw that there were three delivery ponies flying around the front of the house. They seemed to be dropping off a few large packages, all of them being bigger than a sofa. I tilted my head in confusion for a moment while watching them still dropping off packages from a mail carriage suspended in the sky, which was pulled by another Pegasus.

Just five minutes later, the sound of somepony knocking at the door filled the empty living room, echoing off the walls. I walked over to the front door, unlocked it, and opened it. Standing before me was one of the mail ponies holding a clipboard with a form on it. He asked in his accent, "If ya wouldn't mind signin' here, that'd be great." I nodded and proceeded to take the pen from his upturned hoof and took it in my mouth. I signed my name in my best signature on the line at the bottom of the form. I then handed the pen back to him.

"Much obliged, sir," he said while shaking my hoof, "oh, and here's a letter that was attached." He handed me a scroll which had a Royal seal on it, which made me assume it was from Princess Celestia. I curled my left hoof around it and thanked him. After bidding me farewell, he flew off—probably back to the post office—along with the rest of the mail ponies.

Wondering what had just been dropped off at my house, I peeked out the front door and looked to the left. Sitting on the front porch were a few large boxes. I walked the short distance out the door and across the porch to where the boxes were. One of them had a small hole inside. I kneeled down in front of the hole and looked inside to see what looked like a bed frame. I couldn't believe what had been delivered to my home. In the boxes were different pieces of furniture. My, Celestia, don't you like to think ahead of these things, I thought to myself.

"There. All finished!" I said triumphantly as I stretched out my limbs. I had successfully moved all of the new furniture into the house. Fluttershy giggled and clapped her hooves. She got up and immediately jumped onto her new bed. Celestia was even kind enough to send all of the extra bits and pieces, like blankets and pillows. I was more than grateful for what she had sent. Neither myself, nor Fluttershy were disappointed with any of it.

Oh, I almost forgot the letter, I quickly remembered. I ran down the hallway, descended the staircase, and ran into the kitchen. Sitting on the grey granite counter top was the letter Celestia had sent me, still sealed and unopened. I opened the letter, breaking the red wax seal in half. I unfurled the paper scroll and began to read:

Matthew,

I hope you enjoy each and every thing I have sent to you. Just as I was leaving, I remembered that you would most definitely need it. I hope your life in Equestria is wonderful. If you require anything else, I would be more than happy to supply it to you. If I am not around the castle during the day, you will most likely find Luna there. She is just as wise as I am, so do not be afraid to ask her instead. Have a great first day!

Princess Celestia

I smiled as I set the letter down on the counter and walked back through the kitchen and up the stairs. Fluttershy was still in her room, now taking a nap on her new bed. A smile spread across her face for a few moments, which I assumed meant she was experiencing a happy moment in her dreams. Every time I saw her, I was reminded of the time I found her. And each time I remembered that, I knew I was most definitely grateful for finding her in the first place. Just the thought of having a daughter was heartwarming to me.

I quietly walked past her room, the cloud floor making my hoofsteps all the more inaudible. I neared the door to my bedroom and pushed it open. The light coming through the window made it just past the door and leaked into the hallway just a little. I walked inside and surveyed the newly-furnished room. There was a bed in the corner, just under the window, and a dresser stood in front of one of the side walls. There wasn't much there, but it still felt less bare than it was when I first found the house.

I was unsure of what to do on my first real day in Equestria, so I decided to just relax and stay at home all day. I promised myself I'd go out and do something tomorrow. I jumped onto my bed and fell asleep, making a mental list of what I'd do with Fluttershy tomorrow. It'd really be a big day, unlike today.